Our Carter's collection...

Wednesday: Yellowstone

We left SOOO early (4 am) because everyone said the BEST time to see the animals was at dawn and at dusk and we didn't want to miss them. As we entered the park there were some elk and buffalo but we REALLY wanted to see bears, wolves and moose so the plan was to go to the upper loop. When we got there the road to Norris and Canyon were closed for construction until 8 am so we had to drive all the way around the lower loop and up that way. I didn't mind because it was a beautiful drive. Once we got to Canyon we stopped for a potty break and as we were coming back to the cars Rachel took this picture and made a comment about letting "the herds run wild in Yellowstone". We got a good laugh!

Around 10:30 or 11:00 we stopped to see Tower Falls. We made the short hike down and enjoyed the scenery.

Daniel and AvaAva

After Towers we pulled off to a turn off were people were looking at the side of the caldera at the mama and baby big horn sheep. They were fun to watch but we left there in a hurry when they told us there was a grizzly about a mile up the road. We got there and he was about 40 to 50 yards off the road. Of course, I had to get closer so as I hurried down the little hill I tripped over a log. I went down HARD! My camera flew and I knocked the wind out of me! I'm sure all cameras turned to me so they could all tell their story about the clumsy fat girl who had to get closer to the bear! :DHe was so cute to roll all around for us. He just sat and let everyone take pictures. He seemed so harmless and I just wanted to cuddle him like a big teddy bear!

Tuesday: Mesa Falls and Bechler...

On Tuesday we went to Mesa Falls. This picture is from the lookout to Lower Falls. They are amazing. This picture doesn't do it justice. I would love to go back someday and hike down to them.L to R: Kelin, Tiffany, Rebecca, Christina, me, Nicholas, Caitlin, Mom, Joshua, Whitney, Andrew and Derrick Upper Mesa Falls
Nicholas and Caitlin

Derrick and me

Whitney

L to R: Chris, Whitney, Mom, Andrew Back Row: Rachel and Joshua

After we saw the falls we drove through Ashton into the southwest corner of Yellowstone. The area is called Bechler. I had done some research on the internet and ir said that this was an amazing part of Yellowstone that was mostly visted by locals only. About 3/4 of the parks waterfalls are located in this corner of the park and that bears were often seen in this area. It is a dirt road most of the way but decided we could handle it since I REALLY wanted to see Cave Falls and that was the only way to get to them. They are a beautiful waterfall that has a cave to the side allowing you to be paralell with the fall and makes an amazing picture!

As we drove through we had Kelin in our car. Around EVERY turn he would tell he saw something but everyones favorite was when he yelled "I see something! It's the size of our car and it's white and it's moving!" I kindly informed him that polar bears didn't live in Yellowstone! :) It provided loads of entertainment though.

We decided to go to Cave Falls and then head back to the cabin since we hadn't seen any animals. When we passed a ranger he told mom that there had been a slide and the cave was blocked off and the trail was closed. We were able to see them from the road but I was really bummed I didn't get a close shot. All in all it was a great day.

Outragous deals at Carter's...

We went to Carter's clearance sale last night and we bought $245 worth of clothes for $60! I was thrilled! We decided since we both feel like we are having a boy that we would prepare for a boy and save our reciepts. I will have to post a picture of our pile. We got 7 pair of pj's, 3 outfits, 5 onsies, 4 bibs, a pair of pants, 2 polos, a pair of shorts and a car seat toy!

More of Monday: Panning for gold and FHE treats

Right by Nevada City is Alder Gulch. We went there and panned for gold and garnets. These are my cute neices that couldn't get enough of the the water troughs (at least until their parents caught them! :D) Ava (Danaiel and Erin's oldest)

Caitlin and Ava (Caitlin is Nicholas and Christina's youngest, at least until August)

Whitney (Nicholas and Christina's oldest)

For FHE we made ice cream sandwiches with my FAVORITE Pampered Chef tool. The girls LOVED rolling them through the sprinkles.

Mindy...

Yesterday we had the chance to meet the most INCREDIBLE woman... Mindy, our birthmom. She is so sweet and has made some great and very hard changes in the last few years and we are amazed at her strength. We absolutely LOVE her and are so grateful for the most wonderful gift that she could ever give. Here are a few pictures from our meeting. The MOMS
L to R: Me, Tammy, Mindy and Derrick
(Tammy is Mindy's boyfriend's mom and has been so wonderful to visit with and so supportive to Mindy. We are very grateful that Mindy has her love and support.)
Mindy's belly (she's so tiny! :D)

Me, Mindy and Derrick

Thank you again Mindy for meeting us and we look forward to seeing you again! We love you!

Yellowstone...

Since our family vacations growing up consisted of going to see our extended family we decided it was time to take a family vacation. My mom rented an amazing cabin in Island Park, ID and we planned for over a year for this vacation. All of my siblings were there and we hadn't all been together since Christmas 2006, right after my dad died. We arrived on Saturday and on Sunday it snowed. Lucky for us, the weather got nicer as the week went on. :) Thanks mom for the wonderful vacation and the oodles of memories! Looking forward to the next one!

Monday: Nevada City...

On Monday we went to Virginia City and Nevada City Montana. They are small mining towns from the 1800's. Nevada City had an open air museum that we walked through. I love looking at all of the antiques and seeing how they lived in a simplar time. Sisters: L to R: Me, Bekka and Tiffany Derrick and I

L to R: Bekka, Mom, Andrew and Tiffany(front)

A new calling...

I was called to be the second counselor in the Primary presidency. I am so excited and a little nervous about it. I will get to work with three amazing woman and I hope to learn a lot from them!

A Family Vacation...

We had a family reunion in Yellowstone/Island Park area this week and I have had SOOO much fun! I will be home tomorrow and will get pictures and stories posted as soon as I get home. Some of my favorite quotes this week...

"No, it's poop stupid." - Rachel

"I saw something. It was as big as your car and it was white and it moved!" - Kelin

"Get in your car moron!" - Onlooking lady

There are so many more and I will give the history of these quotes as soon as I get unpacked and back to normal life.

My first baby shower....

Last night I had my first baby shower! It was wonderful and a little awkward. I never imagined I would be having a baby shower and not be eight months pregnant! :) Everyone keeps saying I'm doing it the easy way or I only have to be "pregnant" for two months and then I get my baby. Let me tell ya, it's been SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS! :D Thank you so much Auntie Liz for my AWESOME shower and everyone else that helped! I got so many great gifts and I appreciate it so much! I feel so much more prepared.

Our nursey...

It's not quiet finished yet but I couldn't wait to post pictures! This is our crib. It grows with the babe and turns into a full size bed frame. This is my rocker that I got a screamin' good deal on! Love it! And the bookcase. The outside isn't painted yet but it will be a really pale blue, almost the color of the rocker.
If it's a boy we will do these colors and...

...if it's a girl we will do these colors. (Peach and pale blue, but we are still toying with the idea of melon, coral and rust. We bought a flowered dress in those colors and it would be really cute!)

A couple good books...

Shortly after we began our adoption journey this book came out. We bought and then found out later that Derrick's cousin, Brittany, helped edit the book and a piece of her story is included as the last story in the book. It is a great book that incorporates the point of view of several people that are affected by adoption (birth parents, adoptive parents, grandparents, nurses, case workers etc.). We highly recommend this to anyone that is adopting or placing or just wants to understand some of the emotions and ups and downs of the process.

I went into Deseret Book one day looking for books on adoption and one of the workers suggested this book by Jamie Lee Curtis. She actually had an extra copy she had bought for a gift and then found out they already had it so she gave me her copy. I read it have it read it several times over the last few years. It is about a little girl that asks to hear the story of her birth and about her parents being so excited for her to come and her birth mother that loves her dearly but just wasn't able to care for her. It explains adoption in a way that a child can understand and is a book we will share with our children often.

I hope you enjoy the books as much as we did!

The verdict is in...

We finished painting the room on Saturday and got the crib put up. We put the sheet on and ugh! The colors did not look good with our crib color! Who would've thought there was this much matching to worry about? I love it! :) Anyway, so we picked some colors for a boy or a girl and I think they will work out really well.

We went to check out rocking chairs on Saturday and I mentioned stopping in at Down East. Turns out it was their tent sale. They had one rocker/glider left and it is the one I had been looking at on the Pottery Barn website! I was so excited.

This picture is from their website but this is the one. Retail is $999 and we paid $155! I was SO excited! I love it. They didn't have the ottaman which is totally fine. If you look at the wall on the picture, that is exactly what we are doing to the bottom 5 feet once we get the money. It is all starting to come together and Derrick and I are having so much fun shopping for and looking for stuff for our baby! I can't wait!

Thanks for the responses! Jenn, I want to see pictures of the girls room when it is done. I'm sure it will be super cute!

Help!!!

Since we are putting the crib up this weekend we bought these sheets to put on it. After looking at them we love the pattern and wondered if we should just do our nursery around these sheets and these colors. Originally the plan was to wait until baby was here and then I would make the bedding based on the gender (browns, blues, greens and oranges for a boy and browns, creams and corals for a girl). So, what so you think? Should we wait or go with this?

A sneak peek...

Okay, I know you are thinking "that is DARK!" but, we do have a plan. We painted it all Swiss Chocolate for now (still working on the touchups) but once baby is born and we have had a chance to evaluate what we have and what we still need and our budget, we are going to "finish" the room. The top three feet will remain this color and the bottom five will be a cream color with some paneling. Let's cross our fingers for the extra $150 we will need to finish!

Our loved ones...

We were able to visit the graves of a few of our loved ones last weekend. We planted two lemon drop calla lillies on my dad's grave. Calla lillies are my FAVORITE flower. My dad's favorite are red roses. Sorry dad! :D

We were also able to visit Derrick's grandparent's grave. Derrick was named after his Grandpa Wrigley and our boy will be named after them both. (Bernell) They always do beautiful flower arrangements for them and it is always so nice to see our aunts, uncles and cousins that come as well.

We are both so grateful for our families and feel so blessed to be around so many of our family members. We miss the ones that aren't here and wish we could be with them more often!